Guide for Music Parents & Music Students American Music Institute Winter/Spring 2016 (630) 858-8505 [email protected] http://AMImusic.org Coupon Inside!!! Why do most people drop out of music lessons? By Remus Badea There is no doubt that music is one way that a select few can make a lot of money. However, that does not come that easily. In other words, you need to put in a lot of effort before you can start reaping in rewards from your music career. One such effort is studying in music lessons. But not everyone who enrolls in music lessons ends up achieving what they wanted. What prompts someone talented to leave the music lessons they need to develop? “The best way for a student to get out of difficulty is to go through it” — Aristotle As an art, music has to be formally learned to bring out the best of person’s musical talent. It is a journey and a long one that requires patience, practice, and perseverance. Not many, sorry to say, soldier on consistently to the ultimate goal they had in mind of becoming a musician, simply because they prematurely ended their studies. Why do so many people drop out of music lessons? Absence of love and passion for the music theory Yes, you may be talented, but those that don’t have enough enthusiasm or enough passion towards music end up dropping out. Passion is the music engine propeller. Too high expectations High expectations are important for success in anything, however, too much of it will nose dive your talent. If you go into music lessons expecting it to be easy to learn you will tend to drop out of the lessons, never to be seen again. Ego Whenever you walk into a music class, there is a tendency to rank yourself too highly in comparison to other student musicians. To your surprise the roomful of students has guys more talented than you. This creates a complete reversal of your personal expectations graph, then discouragement sets in and some students drop out. You have to be humble to succeed as a student of music (or anything, for that matter). “Most of us have very clear memories of the self-critical internal conversation running on in our heads while we were playing poorly, and yet it often seems that we hardly remember noticing it at all while we were playing well.” — Barry Green, Green, Barry., The Inner Game of Music Practice makes perfect, but not to some The music theory taught in class is not enough to put you at the top of the game. This calls for dedication in practicing to perfect what has been learned in your lessons. Students who rely on these lessons only, end up having hoarse voices, uncoordinated chords and so on. Wavered Focus You may wonder how focus may lead one to quit music lessons. Focus means the attention that is paid to something. Usually music lessons dropouts have very poor concentration and attention levels both in class and at home while practicing. Distractions like phones, friends and multitasking messes with one’s progress and understanding. With these misses, their progress slows and their interest in learning music stalls, leading them to drop out. Deficiency in moral support For any adult or children taking music lessons, moral support from teachers, parents and friends is paramount to guarantee the success. This inspiration from family and friends, however small, can be enough to motivate the student to success. Teaching mode The student may dislike the teaching technique of the teacher and this may lead them to quit lessons, since the flow of knowledge from teacher to student has been derailed. Unfortunately, the student may quit lessons rather than change teachers. Tight Schedules Music lessons require a lot of work and dedication for talent to shine. It takes a lot of assignments and practice, i.e., doing one thing over and over again in a week. Some students find these routines very boring and tiresome and they end up exiting lessons. To avoid drop outs, teachers should teach professionally. Students should be passionate about the art of music and dedicate time and resources to get most out of their lessons. Parents and the friends should offer moral support and much-needed inspiration to students. Finding a place for practicing in the student’s schedule of work/school, family, friends, sports, etc., is the key to preventing burn-out. Did you know that those who attend music lessons and finish them diligently are found to be sharper in other fields? This becomes a win- win for music students. Press on till the end! Remus Badea is Concertmaster of Southwest Symphony Orchestra, adjunct professor at Elmhurst College, and Executive Director of American Music Institute. What is the best way to learn music theory systematically? By Remus Badea If you are looking forward to learning music theory or taking music classes, it is important to know that there are many ways to go. However, it is equally important to remember that not all methods will work for everyone. Every student has to find the best way for them. Before I describe the different ways to systematically learn music theory, I will first define what I mean by the term: music theory. It is the study of practices and possibilities of music. It is derived from the observations of how musicians and composers make music and it also includes hypothetical speculation. It describes the academic study and analysis of fundamental elements of music such as pitch, rhythm, harmony and form but also refers to the descriptions, concepts and beliefs related to music. A course in music theory will introduce you to the theory of music, provide you with the skills needed to read and write musical notation, as well as to understand how to analyze, and listen from this critical perspective. It will provide the basis for the further study of music both from a theoretical and practical point of view: musicology, pastiche and free composition, analysis, performance, and aural skills. The study of music has been made easier by the availability of apps, websites, blogs and social media. These media are helpful in the learning process. Basic methods for learning music theory There are different ways to learn music theory and it is essential to know them, particularly if you really have a passion for music. Let us discuss some of them below. It will certainly go a long way in helping you understand what music is all about. Learning the basic elements that make up music theory: • The musical alphabet - The musical alphabet goes to the letter G of the English alphabet. One has to learn all of the alphabets and where the half steps are and are not. • Scales - Learning the scale is equivalent to having mastered the song. Every song is based off a scale. The scale helps in figuring out what notes belong where when playing a song. For a guitarist, for example, they are necessary when playing a solo performance. • Intervals - The creation of moods and feelings in a song or with music is done by combining, isolating and switching combinations of notes. A change in intervals will most certainly alter the mood of the song drastically. For example, a chord progression that goes from the 1 chord to the 2 chord sounds different when the 2 chord is played on its own. This approach of learning the music theory should be used while the earner is focusing on his/her goals. Learning for an individual who knows the notes, names and values involves the following: • Learning the key signatures: this involves the major key, the minor key, and the scales. • Basic triads – on this the learner should learn how to deal with the triads in the lead sheet. • Functions of chords – the tonic, dominant, and predominant chords are the most common and useful. They help when one goes to the chord progressions. • Common chord progressions – these are the commonly used chord progressions. Another recommended skill to ensure that the above method is effective is getting the aural skills (ear training). These help in identifying the structural elements in the music you listen to. The procedure involves: • Interval identification – this is mostly up to the learner. • Melodic dictation - this involves the learner listening to a simple piece of music and writing it down. • Bass line dictation – this involves listening to any type of music and writing the bass line. • Harmonic dictation – this involves listening to music with multiple voices. The learner can write down all of the voices or write the melody/bass and the chord progressions. It is recommended that to learn well, the learner should focus on listening to a lot of music and studying different books and reading music theory blogs and websites to understand the various approaches to music theory. To understand music theory, one should also study ear training. In this case, the learner chooses what procedure to use when doing music theory. These are the topics a learner should consider in learning music theory. Please note the order in which they are written. • Basics of musical notation: these are the symbols a student must learn to read music. They include the staff, clefs, and notes. • Advanced notations include key signatures, time signatures, advanced clefs, dynamics, and combinations of notes to create chords and complex rhythms. • Ear training and dictation: this involves jotting down written music as you listen. • More advanced harmonic theory: these include non-harmonic tones, borrowed chords, and secondary dominants. • Scales and their relationships to melody and key.